Final Thoughts: DSL Twins

Pretty much limited to facts and figures.

--Dubal Baez, an outfielder, hit .335/.447/.396 in 164 at-bats.  He was 27-for-38 in stolen bases.  He turned 20 in June.  This was his fourth season in the DSL, and by far his best.

--Ariel Montesino, a shortstop, hit .270/.393/.419 in 74 at-bats.  He'll be 18 in a couple of days.  This was his first season.

--Frank Encarnacion, an outfielder, hit .273/.348/.439 in 139 at-bats.  He'll be 18 in November.  This was his first season.

--Manuel Guzman, a second baseman, hit .291/.394/.377 in 151 at-bats.  He was 14-for-25 in stolen bases.  He was 18 this year.  It was his first season.

--Rafael P Valera, a third baseman, hit .257./417/.310 in 171 at-bats.  He was 19-for-29 in stolen bases.  He turned 19 in August.  This was his second season.

--Joel Ramirez, a shortstop, hit .252/.394/.315 in 143 at-bats.  He was 20-for-28 in stolen bases.  He turned 20 a couple of weeks ago.  This was his first season.

--Eduardo Del Rosario was 2-3, 2.03, 1.06 WHIP with 25 walks and 30 strikeouts in 44.1 innings.  He was 18 this year.  It was his first season.

--Alexis Tapia was 2-1, 2.13, 0.87 WHIP with 5 walks and 31 strikeouts in 42.1 innings.  He turned 18 in August.  This was his first season.

--Wilfredy Liranzo was 3-4, 3.07, 1.17 WHIP with 27 walks and 62 strikouts in 41 innings.  He'll be 19 in October.  This was his first season.

--Elias Villasana was 1-1, 2.79, 1.24 WHIP with 9 walks and 26 strikeouts in 38.1 innings.  He was 20 this year.  This was his fourth season.

--Jhon Silva was 3-3, 2.62, 1.11 WHIP with 19 walks and 33 strikeouts in 34.1 innings.  He turned 20 in June and is a converted outfielder.  This was his second season.

--Williams Ramirez was 3-1, 2.45, 1.15 WHIP with 25 walks and 35 strikeouts in 33 innings.  He turned 21 in August.  This was his first season.

--Ezequiel Zarzuela was 1-1, 2.50, 1.11 WHIP with 5 walks and 13 strikeouts in 18 innings.  He'll be 23 in November.  This was his fourth season.

So, those are your 2013 DSL Twins.  We'll take a couple of weeks off now, but the AFL season starts on October 8.  Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll be there!

Final Thoughts: GCL Twins

With the exception of Kohl Stewart, I really have no idea who's supposed to be a top prospect on this team.  Here's who did well this year.

--The only batter with an OPS of over .710 was Zach Larson, who we discussed yesterday.  Of the others, the highest was Amaurys Minier, who hit .214/.252/.455 with 6 home runs in 112 at-bats.  I included him in the prospect watch this year because Seth Stohs seems to be high on him.  He was 17 this season, so he certainly has time to improve.  He's a shortstop.

--Alex Swim, a catcher hit .287/.357/.344.  in 122 at-bats.  He's 22.

--Jason Kanzler, an outfielder, hit .220/.286/.390 in 159 at-bats.  He was 13-for-14 in stolen bases.  He turned 23 in August.

--Will Hurt, a shortstop, hit .243/.387/.284 in 74 at-bats.  This is a substantial improvement over last year, when he hit .141/.221/.141 in 78 at-bats.  He'll be 20 in December and was a 16th round draft choice in 2012.

--Adonis Pacheco has an awesome name.  An outfielder, he hit .225/.291/.345 in 142 at-bats.  He was in the DSL for three years prior to this season.

--There are a lot of pitchers who did well, but the most innings anyone threw was 45, so who knows what that means.  Anyway, here are a few of them:

--Fernando Romero was 2-0, 1.60, 1.00 WHIP with 13 walks and 47 strikeouts in 45 innings.  He'll be 19 in December.

--Lewis Thorpe was 4-1, 2.05, 0.86 WHIP with 6 walks and 64 strikeouts in 44 innings.  He'll be 18 in November.

--Sam Gibbons was 3-3, 1.91, 1.18 WHIP with 10 walks and 30 strikeouts in 42.1 innings.  He'll be 20 in December.

--Chih-Wei Hu was 2-0, 2.45, 0.98 WHIP with 8 walks and 39 strikeouts in 36.2 innings.  He's from Taiwan, and will be 20 in November.

--Jose Abreu was 2-3, 1.61, 0.82 WHIP with 5 walks and 30 strikeouts in 28 innings.  He was 21 in July.

--Miguel Gonzalez was 0-0, 1.05, 1.31 WHIP with 9 walks and 33 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.  He'll be 19 in October.

--Kohl Stewart was 0-0, 1.69, 0.94 WHIP with 3 walks and 16 strikeouts in 16 innings.  He threw four shutout innings in Elizabethton, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out eight.  He'll be 19 in October.

--Tyler Stirewalt was 1-1, 0.57, 0.83 WHIP with 5 walks and 20 strikeouts in 15.2 innings.  He'll be 23 in December.

So, there are your 2013 GCL Twins.  If all goes well, we'll review the DSL Twins tomorrow.  Then, we'll take a couple of weeks off until it's time to preview the Arizona Fall League!

Final Thoughts: Elizabethton Twins

Not much opinion, mostly just stats.

--The E-Twins had their worst season in a long time.  It still wasn't bad.  They were 37-31, in third place, 3.5 games out of first.  A lot of us would be pretty happy if the big club had a "bad" season like that.

--With all the short-season teams, I really don't know much about any of these guys.  Making projections about anybody at this level is a pretty chancy proposition.  So, all I'm really going to do from here on out is point out who had a good season.

--Zach Larson, an outfielder, started the year in the GCL, where he hit .317/.382/.467 in 120 at-bats.  Promoted to Elizabethton, he hit .301/.407/.438 in 73 at-bats.  He was a 20th round draft choice in 2012 and will be 20 in October.

--Bryan Haar, a first baseman, hit .293/.341/.474 in 232 at-bats.  He was a 34th round draft choice in 2012 from the University of San Diego and will be 24 in December.

--Logan Wade, a second baseman, hit .303/.333/.455 in 99 at-bats.  He was signed from Australia as an undrafted free agent in 2012.  He'll be 22 in November.

--Zach Granite, an outfielder, hit .285/.362/.343 in 242 at-bats.  He led the team with 14 stolen bases.  He also led in caught stealing with seven.  He was a 14th round draft choice in 2013 from Seton Hall.  He turns 21 today.

--Stuart Turner, a catcher, hit .264/.340/.380 in 121 at-bats.  He was drafted in the third round in 2013 from the University of Mississippi.  He'll be 22 in December.

--That's the list of everybody who had an OPS over .700 in a significant number of at-bats.  So, we'll go on to the pitchers.  Nobody threw more than 63 innings, so understand that in all these cases, we're dealing with small sample sizes.

--Hein Robb was 4-4, 2.71, 1.21 WHIP with 13 walks and 52 strikeouts in 63 innings.  He'll be 22 next season and comes from South Africa.

--Felix Jorge was 2-2, 2.95, 1.21 WHIP with 18 walks and 72 strikeouts in 61 innings.  He'll be 20 next season and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2011.

--Yorman Landa was 3-4, 2.78, 1.36 WHIP with 29 walks and 46 strikeouts in 55 innings.  Yes, he'll need to improve his control.  He turned 19 in June and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2010.

--Randy Rosario was 4-3, 2.82, 1.34 WHIP with 18 walks and 37 strikeouts in 44.2 innings.  He'll be 20 next season and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2010.

--Austin Malinowski was 4-3, 2.01, 1.09 WHIP with 17 walks and 43 strikeouts in 40.1 innings.  He'll be 21 in November and was drafted in the 16th round in 2011.

--Kuo Hua Lo was 2-1, 2.37, 1.13 WHIP with 14 walks and 34 strikeouts in 38 innings.  He'll be 21 in October and comes from Taiwan.

--Brandon Peterson was 0-2, 2.96, 1.13 WHIP with 9 walks and 40 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.  He'll be 22 next week and comes from Burnsville.

--Aaron Slegers was 0-0, 0.47, 0.95 WHIP with 2 walks and 18 strikeouts in 19 innings.  He just turned 21.

--Brandon Bixler was 1-1, 0.73, 0.81 WHIP with 4 walks and 18 strikeouts in 12.1 innings.  He'll turn 22 at the end of the year.  He finished the season in Cedar Rapids.  He was drafted in the 16th round in 2013 from Florida Gulf Coast University.

--Stephen Gonsalves was 1-1, 1.29, 1.00 WHIP with 4 walks and 21 strikeouts in 14 innings.  That followed a stint in the GCL, where he went 1-0, 0.63, 1.05 WHIP with 7 walks and 18 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.  He turned 19 in July.  He was a 4th round draft choice in 2013.

--Kohl Stewart did well in his one start for Elizabethton, but he did most of his pitching in the GCL, so we'll discuss him when we cover that team.

So, there are your 2013 Elizabethton Twins.  If nothing happens to disrupt our plans, we'll cover the GCL Twins tomorrow.

Final Thoughts: Cedar Rapids Kernels

We continue our closing look at each of the Twins' minor league teams.

--It took a while to get used to rooting for Cedar Rapids instead of Beloit (I think I even tagged a few early-season games "Snappers" rather than "Kernels"), but the Kernels helped by having an awesome year.  Led by Byron Buxton, they finished second in the first half, qualifying for the playoffs with a record of 40-28.  They did even better in the second half, as Adam Brett Walker II led them to a 48-22 record, finishing first.  Their overall record of 88-50 was the best in the league.

--We discussed Buxton and Dalton Hicks in the Fort Myers article, so we'll start here with Adam Brett Walker II.  He hit .278/.319/.526 with 27 homers, 31 doubles, and 7 triples.  Many thought he should have been promoted to Fort Myers.  I tend to agree, but assume the reason he was not is that he walked only 31 times all season while striking out 115 times.  I don't know that this is enough reason to hold him down, but on the other hand, he'll turn 22 in October, so it probably didn't do him any harm.  One assumes he'll be in Fort Myers at the start of next season, and if he continues to bash the ball there he'll probably go to New Britain at some point.

--The other hot batting prospect in Cedar Rapids was Max Kepler.  He hit a rather underwhelming .237/.312/.424 in 236 at-bats.  On the other hand, he's twenty, and growing up in Germany presumably put him behind some people.  The guess here is that he'll start next season back in Cedar Rapids, but he still has time to develop.

--Jorge Polanco rather quietly put up some pretty good numbers, hitting .308/.362/.452 with 32 doubles and 10 triples.  Polanco turned 20 in July and put up good numbers in Elizabethton last year, too.  We assume he'll start in Fort Myers next year, and he may be someone to keep an eye on.

--Travis Harrison showed some power, hitting 15 home runs and 28 doubles.  He also drew 68 walks, giving him a line of .253/.366/.416.  It'll be interesting to see what he does in Fort Myers, as well.

--Niko Goodrum also drew a bunch of walks, 60 of them.  He's drawn a lot of walks everywhere he's played.  Unfortunately, that seems to be his only offensive skill, as he's never hit more than .275 and has little power.  This year his line was .260/.364/.369.  He gets on base at a good clip, and that's obviously valuable, but he's probably going to have to hit more to get ahead.

--The pitcher we all had our eyes on at the start of the season was Jose Berrios.  He wasn't great, but he wasn't terrible:  7-7, 3.99, 1.40 WHIP with 40 walks and 100 strikeouts in 103.2 innings.  He turned 19 this season, so he has plenty of time to improve.  I suspect he'll start at Fort Myers next season.

--Miguel Sulbaran, the guy the Twins got for Drew Butera, just might be something.  He was 9-4, 2.96, 1.26 WHIP with 32 walks and 101 strikeouts in 112.2 innings.  He turned 19 in March.

--Brett Lee had a pretty solid year, too.  He was 8-4, 2.95, 1.23 WHIP with 26 walks and 89 strikeouts in 116 innings.  He'll be 23 this week, so you'd expect him to be a little more advanced, but we'll see what he does in Fort Myers.

--I could go on and on about the pitchers at Cedar Rapids, but you're probably getting bored by now.  I'll just give you the numbers on some of them from here out.

--Mason Melotakis, 11-4, 3.16, 1.31 WHIP, 39 walks, 84 strikeouts, 111 innings, 22 years old.

--Tim Atherton, 8-5, 2.54, 1.14 WHIP, 33 walks, 102 strikeouts, 95.2 innings, will be 24 in November.

--Alex Muren, 6-1, 2 saves, 2.85, 1.13 WHIP, 18 walks, 36 strikeouts, 60 innings, will be 22 in November.

--Steven Gruver, 5-2, 3 saves, 2.45, 1.13 WHIP, 16 walks, 62 strikeouts, 58.2 innings, 24 years old.  Did okay in 20.1 innings in Fort Myers.

--David Hurlbut, 3-1, 6 saves, 2.52, 0.96 WHIP, 8 walks, 46 strikeouts, 50 innings, will be 24 in November.  Also did okay in 20.1 innings in Fort Myers.

--Tim Shibuya did well in six games at Elizabethton, and continued to do well in 10 games (4 starts) at Cedar Rapids.  He was 4-0, 0.96, 1.38 WHIP, 4 walks, 25 strikeouts in 37.2 innings.  He turned 24 Saturday.

So there you are, your 2013 Cedar Rapids Kernels.  If possible, we'll look at the Elizabethton Twins tomorrow.

Final Thoughts: Fort Myers Miracle

Opinions.  As they say, everybody's got one.  Here are some of mine.

--The Miracle blew everyone away in the first half.  Then their best players went to New Britain, and they became just another team--not awful, but not great, either.  They made the playoffs on the basis of that big first half, but were swept out of the playoffs.

--We talked about them yesterday, but the strong first half was led on offense by Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and Angel Morales.  Sano hit .330/.424/.655 with 16 homers in 206 at-bats.  Rosario hit .329/.377/.527.  Morales hit .297/.364/.525.  You're going to score a lot of runs that way.

--But of course, when we think Fort Myers Miracle, at least in the second half, we think Byron Buxton.  Buxton followed a .341/.431/.559 performance in Cedar Rapids with .326/.415/.472 in Fort Myers.  He was 32-for-43 in stolen bases in Cedar Rapids and 23-for-31 in Fort Myers, percentages which should only improve with experience.  He also hit a combined 18 triples, 10 in Cedar Rapids and 8 in Fort Myers.  What impresses me the most about Buxton is that even when he doesn't have a great offensive game, he almost always makes a contribution.  He hardly ever goes 4-0-0-0 or 5-0-0-0.  He'll draw a couple of walks and score a run, or he'll get a single and a stolen base, or he'll do something else that helps the offense.  If you're looking for a negative, about the only one I can find is that he struck out 105 times between the two teams.  He'll turn twenty in December.  There's no such thing as a sure thing, but he seems like he's about as close as you can get.

--There are other players who are worth noticing, though.  Kennys Vargas continues to improve.  He didn't have the awesome year he had in Beloit in 2012, but he hit .267/.344/.468 with 19 home runs.  On the other hand, he did strike out more, 105 times, double what he'd done last year.  The Twins have brought him along very slowly, giving him two years at the GCL, one in Elizabethton, one in low-A, and now one in high-A.  One assumes he'll be at New Britain next year.  He turned 23 last month.

--Mike Kvasnicka came to the Twins this season after spending three years in Class A for Houston.  He had by far his best season, hitting .282/.341/.460.  He'll turn 25 in December, so those numbers aren't all that impressive, but they're not nothing, either.  Presumably they'll move him to New Britain next year and see if he's learned something or if this is as good as it gets.

--Dalton Hicks spent most of the year in Cedar Rapids, but had 42 games in Fort Myers.  He didn't show as much power in Fort Myers, but otherwise he showed he could handle it.  He went from .297/.355/.494 in Cedar Rapids to .270/.364/.405 in Fort Myers.  He hit only four homers in Fort Myers after hitting 13 in Cedar Rapids.  He'll be 24 next season.  He may start out at Fort Myers again next year, but should have a good chance to move up if he does well.

--Aderlin Mejia hit .308.  His OBP was .359 and he has no power, so .308 is the best thing you can say about him.  But the other nice thing you can say about him is that he's 21 and was able to hit .308 in high-A.  Again, I assume they move him up and see how he does.

--It wasn't all hitting at Fort Myers.  The pitching staff was led by Taylor Rogers, who went 11-6, 2.55, 1.16 WHIP. His strikeout numbers don't blow you away, but they're not awful--83 Ks in 130.2 innings.  He'll turn 23 in December.

--Matthew Summers was a pretty good number two.  He was 6-5, 2.47, 1.11 WHIP with 87 strikeouts in 120.1 innings.  You could argue that he was just as good as Rogers, but just didn't have the wins.  He turned 24 last month.

--He didn't do it in New Britain, but D. J. Baxendale had an awesome nine starts in Fort Myers.  He was 7-0, 1.10, o.78 WHIP with 48 strikeouts in 57.1 innings.

--Zach Jones had another fine year in relief.  He went 4-3, 14 saves, 1.85, 1.15 WHIP with 70 strikeouts in 48.2 innings.  He'll turn 23 in December.  Relief pitchers can be hard to evaluate, but he's handled everything so far, so again, move him up to New Britain and see how he does.

--Ryan O'Rourke also did well in Fort Myers, and didn't do as badly as it might seem when moved up to New Britain.  He was 5-1, 3 saves, 2.22, 0.95 WHIP for the Miracle.  He was 0-2, 4.67 for the Rock Cats, but his WHIP was a very respectable 1.27 and he struck out 19 in 17.1 innings.

--As you noticed, a lot of comments are "he's done okay so far, so move him up and we'll see."  But, that's kind of how it is as you get to the low minors.  You put a guy at one level and see what he does.  If he succeeds, you move him to the next level and see what he does.  There's the rare player that you can be more aggressive with, but for most of them, it's one step at a time.

So, there's your 2013 Fort Myers Miracle.  We'll take the weekend off, and if all goes according to plan, we'll look at the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Monday.

Final Thoughts: New Britain Rock Cats

Again, these are just my opinions.  I claim no expertise, so feel free to disagree.

--The Rock Cats had a disappointing season.  The team is usually at least competitive, but this year they finished ten games under .500, in fifth place, and a long way from first.

--The Rock Cat everyone wants to talk about, of course, is Miguel Sano.  He'd hit .330/.424/.655 with 16 homers in Fort Myers.  He came to New Britain and hit 19 more homers, had an OBP of .344 and led the team in OPS.  On the other hand, he hit .236 and struck out 81 times in 233 at-bats.  In other words, he has some definite strengths, but he still has some things to work on.  On the other hand, he's only twenty, so he has plenty of time to work on them.  There are questions about his defense and his attitude, but those are questions on which I'm in no position to have an opinion.  Most likely, he'll start next season either back in New Britain or in Rochester.

--Eddie Rosario looked really good when he first got to New Britain, but fell off at the end.  He wound up at .284/.330/.412, which isn't terrible, but isn't all that great, either.  He'll turn twenty-two at the end of the month.  I suspect he'll start next season in New Britain, but he could go to Rochester instead.

--People forget there was a third player promoted to New Britain at the same time as Rosario and Sano.  If they were the Three Tenors, Miguel Sano would be Luciano Pavarotti, Eddie Rosario would be Placido Domingo, and Angel Morales would be The Other Guy.  Morales was having a fine season in Fort Myers, hitting .297/.364/.525, and definitely earned the promotion, but he fell on his face in New Britain, batting .169/.230/.307.  I know the jump to AA can be tough, but that's ridiculous.  He'll be twenty-four in November.  He still has time, but he's obviously going to have to do a lot better next year if he's going to have much of a future.

--There's not much to say about the rest of the batters.  Jordan Parraz had a nice season, hitting .261/.347/.444, but a twenty-nine-year old in AA probably isn't going anywhere.  Reynaldo Rodriguez hit 21 homers, but didn't do much else, batting .231/.305/.482.  He's twenty-seven, so he's probably not going anywhere, either.

--Trevor May had a disappointing year.  Touted as a future star, he went 9-9, 4.51, 1.42 WHIP, numbers that are quite similar to what he did last year in AA Reading.  He struck out a lot of guys--159 in 151.2 innings--but he struck out a lot of guys in Reading last year, too.  He'll turn twenty-four in a couple of weeks.  I'm not suggesting we give up on him, but he has two years in AA which are not particularly good, and it starts to raise some concerns.

--I should've covered Pat Dean in the Rochester review.  Dean spent most of the year in New Britain and went 6-11, 4.68, 1.34 WHIP.  He really didn't earn a promotion, but got one due to a need in Rochester.  He made the most of his chance there, going 3-2, 2.03, 1.08 WHIP in 40 innings.  He didn't start striking out more guys, or walking fewer, or anything like that.  They just stopped hitting him.  His hits per nine innings went from 10.9 in New Britain to 8.6 in Rochester.  Most likely it's simply a small sample size fluke, but he did have some excellent games in New Britain.  He simply couldn't do it consistently.  He's twenty-four.  It seems at least possible that he could've figured something out and started doing all the time what he had been doing once in a while.

--Logan Darnell was drafted in 2010 and really hadn't done much since getting promoted after six starts in Beloit in 2011.  This year, though, he went 6-6, 2.61, 1.23 WHIP.  He went from striking out less than six batters per nine innings to striking out more than seven.  He was promoted to Rochester and didn't do a lot there, but at age twenty-four, he still has some time.  I'm not predicting stardom, but he has a lot better chance of making the majors now than he did a year ago.

--I have no idea what happened to B. J. Hermsen, but he was awful.  Last year in New Britain, he went 11-6, 3.22, 1.22 WHIP.  This year, he went 1-10, 4.81, 1.69.  His strikeouts went down, his walks went up, and his hits allowed went way up.  Any reasons I might give would be pure speculation, but it seems like when you go from being one of the best pitchers in the league to being one of the worst, there has to be a reason for it.

--I'd had hopes for D. J. Baxendale when he got to New Britain.  He'd been awesome in Fort Myers:  7-0, 1.10, 0.79 WHIP in nine starts.  The results in New Britain, were, well, not so awesome:  5-7, 5.63, 1.42 WHIP in 16 starts.  He was twenty-two this season, and this was the first time he's hit a bump.  Hopefully that will be all it is, and he'll get back on track next year.

--Alex Meyer rather quietly had a nice season for the Rock Cats.  He went 4-3, 3.21, 1.27 WHIP with 84 strikeouts in 70 innings.  He's twenty-three.  He was drafted out of college, so he's only had two years of pro ball, but he hasn't run into any problems yet.  I'd like to see him start at Rochester next year.

--Tom Stuifbergen is another pitcher who was really good in Fort Myers, not so good in New Britain.  For the former, he was 2-3, 3.65, 1.02 WHIP; for the latter, he was 3-1, 6.16, 1.40.  He only pitched thirty innings for the Rock Cats before being shut down due to injury.  It's possible that he was trying to pitch through that injury and that doing so contributed to his poor AA numbers.  He'll be twenty-five in a couple of weeks.  He missed time in 2012 due to injury as well.  Again, you could say this about almost everyone, but next year will be really important to him.  He needs to stay healthy and show some substantial improvement.

So, that's your 2013 New Britain Rock Cats.  If all goes according to plan, we'll take a look at the Fort Myers Miracle tomorrow.

Final Thoughts: Rochester Red Wings

Just some opinions.  I claim no particular expertise, so feel free to disagree with them.

--It was nice to see the Red Wings in the playoffs.  It was the first time they'd been there since 2006.  As I'm sure you know, however, it does not mean they have a bunch of hot prospects ready to help the big club.  For one thing, anybody worth anything has already been promoted to Minnesota.  For another, they had a good year by using a lot of minor league veterans.  Chris Colabello will be thirty in a month.  Doug Bernier is thirty-three.  Antoan Richardson will be thirty next month.  Ray Olmedo is thirty-two.  Andrew Albers will be twenty-eight next month.  And so on.  Some guys had nice years, and I'm happy for them, but the actual prospects are mostly still in the lower levels.

--I spent much of last year telling you that Chris Parmelee had no business still being in Rochester.  I still think the Twins would've been better served giving him the right field and DH at-bats that went to First Half MVP Ryan Doumit.  Having said that, Parmelee hasn't exactly done anything to show he deserved more playing time.  He's hit .220/.310/.370 in Minnesota and .231/.318/.370 in Rochester.  Even if you think he's a AAAA player, there's clearly something about him that's messed up, because he wasn't even a AAA player this year.  I don't know if it's a mechanical problem, or if he's lost his confidence, or if he's hiding an injury, or what, but I don't see how you go from what he was in Rochester last year to what he did this year unless there's something wrong.

--When the Twins sent Liam Hendriks out after only two starts, I said the Twins should trade him.  At that point, it seems likely that someone would've looked at his AAA numbers from 2012 and given you something worth having for him.  That's probably not the case now.  He was trying to pitch through an injury the first part of the season, which makes his numbers look worse than they would've been otherwise, but he was not the dominant pitcher in AAA that he was last year, and has yet to have much success in the majors, either.  He's twenty-four, so he still has time to improve, but he's not showing much sign of it yet.

--Another reason I said the Twins should trade Hendriks is that they seem to have no confidence in him.  I can't prove that, of course, but it's my opinion.  Last year, they left him in AAA long after he'd shown he could dominate there and despite the fact that the big-league rotation was struggling.  This year, they shipped him out after only two starts, one of which wasn't very good but the other of which was okay.  And when I hear Gardy or Rick Anderson talk about him, they seem to constantly harp on his weakness, and even when they try to be nice they seem to praise him with faint damns.  I constantly hear them say things like, "He needs to figure some things out."  He probably does, but a) they never seem to say what it is he needs to figure out, and b) it seems like it's the job of Anderson and Bobby Cuellar to help him figure things out.  It's possible that they're doing things we don't know about, and that Hendriks simply can't or won't learn, but we never hear anything about that.  I'm not saying they should pretend Hendriks is a great pitcher, but it seems like it wouldn't hurt to express a little confidence in him once in a while.

--While they're not really prospects, I am pleased that people like Colabello, Albers, and Samuel Deduno (who's thirty) got a chance this year, because they did everything they could possibly do to earn that chance.  I've said before that I believe in keeping it simple, and that when a player succeeds at one level he deserves a chance at the next level.  I don't know that any of these guys will be good major league players in the long run, but each of them had a few moments this year, and it's been fun to see.

--Doug Bernier, on the other hand, did nothing to earn a chance.  My assumption is that he's on the roster because somebody has to be the backup infielder and they didn't want Eduardo Escobar rotting on the bench.  And in that respect, it seems to have been a good move.  Escobar did very well in Rochester, hitting .307/.380/.500.  At twenty-four, it's possible that this is going to be a lasting improvement.  I'd pretty much consigned him to the "good field, no hit" category, but that may have been unfair.  If he can keep this going, he's going to force his way onto a big league roster eventually.

--James Beresford had a nice year, hitting a combined .306 between New Britain and Rochester.  It's a fairly empty .306, as he has no power, but .306 is still .306, and it'll get you noticed.  I'm not really very high on him, but if he can do it again next year, he, too, may see some big league time eventually.

--Aaron Hicks had pretty much a lost year.  It's clear in retrospect that he wasn't ready for the big leagues yet, although it's easy to say that now, and he only got 72 at-bats in Rochester due to injuries.  It may very well be that not playing winter ball is the best thing for him, that it will be better for him to rest and heal and come back strong next year.  One suspects he'll probably start the season in Rochester, and that's probably a good thing.

--I wouldn't give up on Kyle Gibson just yet.  It's true that he struggled in Minnesota, but he pitched well in Rochester, and he's still not that far removed from major surgery.  I hate to say "next year is a critical year for him", because you could say that about almost everybody, but it does seem to apply a little more in his case.  He'll be twenty-six next month.  If he's going to make a move, he needs to do it soon.

--Vance Worley, as you know, was a disappointment.  He'd been at least a competent major league pitcher for Philadelphia, but he was awful in Minnesota and not particularly good in Rochester before being shut down due to injury.  He'll turn twenty-six at the end of this month.  Again, if he's going to make a move, he needs to do it soon.

--It looks like we can say good-bye to Brian Dinkelman.  He hit .215/.312/.350.  He really never has had a good offensive year in AAA, and this was his fourth season there.  He turns thirty in a couple of months.  It always makes me a little sad to see someone go, but it's clear that he has little to no major league future.

So, that's your 2013 Rochester Red Wings.  If things go according to plan, we'll look at the New Britain Rock Cats tomorrow.

Players of the Year: 2013

ROCHESTER

Position player:  Chris Colabello hit .352/.427/.639 with 24 home runs in 338 at-bats.

Pitcher:  Andrew Albers was 11-5, 2.86, 1.18 WHIP with 32 walks and 116 strikeouts in 132.1 innings.

NEW BRITAIN

Position player:  Josmil Pinto hit .308/.411/.482 in 386 at-bats.  He also hit .314/.333/.486 in 70 at-bats in Rochester.

Pitcher:  Logan Darnell was 6-6, 2.61, 1.23 WHIP with 23 walks and 77 strikeouts in 96.2 innings.

FORT MYERS

Position player:  Miguel Sano hit .330/.424/.655 with 16 home runs in 206 at-bats.  He also hit .236/.344/.571 with 19 home runs in New Britain.

Pitcher:  Taylor Rogers was 11-6, 2.55, 1.16 WHIP with 32 walks and 83 strikeouts in 130.2 innings.

CEDAR RAPIDS

Position player:  Byron Buxton hit .341/.431/.559 with 32 stolen bases in 270 at-bats.  He also hit .326/.415/.472 with 23 stolen bases in Fort Myers.

Pitcher:  Brett Lee was 8-4. 2.95, 1.23 WHIP with 26 walks and 89 strikeouts in 116 innings.

ELIZABETHTON

Position player:  Bryan Haar hit .293/.341/.474 in 232 at-bats.

Pitcher:  Hein Robb was 4-4, 2.71, 1.21 WHIP with 13 walks and 52 strikeouts in 63 innings.

GCL TWINS

Position player:  Zach Larson hit .317/.382/.467 in 120 at-bats.  He also hit .301 in 73 at-bats in Elizabethton.

Pitcher:  Lewis Thorpe was 4-1, 2.05, 0.86 WHIP with 6 walks and 64 strikeouts in 44 innings.

DSL TWINS

Position player:  Dubal Baez hit .335/.447/.396 with 27 stolen bases in 164 at-bats.

Pitcher:  Alexis Tapia was 2-1, 2.13, 0.87 WHIP with 5 walks and 31 strikeouts in 42.1 innings.

Game of September 8

There is no joy in Rochester, as the Red Wings fall in the decisive fifth game.

PAWTUCKET 3, ROCHESTER 0 IN PAWTUCKET

Batting stars:  None.  The Red Wings had four hits, all singles.  They also drew four walks.

Pitching stars:  Logan Darnell struck out three in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and no walks.  Shairon Martis pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up no hits and one walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Charlie Haeger pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  Justin Henry was 2-for-3 with a double and scored once.  Dan Butler was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

Key inning #1:  The second.  It was a scoreless tie.  With two out and none on, Jeremy Hazelbaker tripled, Butler hit an RBI single, Henry doubled, and Heiker Meneses hit a two-run single for all the runs of the game.

Key inning #2:  The sixth.  The Red Wings trailed 3-0.  Antoan Richardson led off with a single, James Beresford was hit by a pitch, and Eduardo Escobar got an infield single to load the bases with none out.  Jeff Clement struck out, pinch-hitter Chris Parmelee struck out, and Aaron Hicks flied to left to end the inning.

Prospect watch:  Escobar was 1-for-4.  Parmelee was 0-for-2.  Hicks was 0-for-4.

Rochester loses the series, three games to two.  This concludes our game reports for the 2013 minor league season.  Tomorrow, God willing, we'll name our minor league players of the year.  That will be followed by some concluding thoughts on the Twins' minor league seasons.  After that, we'll take a little break until October 8, when the Arizona Fall League starts.  Hope you've enjoyed these game reports, and we thank you for your support.

Game of September 7

A big inning carries the Red Wings to victory. Scott Diamond pitches seven shutout innings. This afternoon's game will decide the series.

ROCHESTER 9, PAWTUCKET 1 IN PAWTUCKET

Batting stars: Jeff Clement was 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in three. Deibinson Romero was 3-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring once and driving in one. Eric Farris was 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Pitching star: Scott Diamond struck out eight in seven shutout innings, giving up seven hits and no walks.
Opposition stars: Mark Hamilton was 2-for-3 with a walk. Christian Vazquez was 2-for-4.
Key inning: The fifth. The Red Wings led 2-0. The first eight batters of the inning reached base. Ray Olmedo and Eric Fryer singled. Antoan Richardson walked to lead the bases. James Beresford reached on an error to score one. Eduardo Escobar singled in the second run. Clement doubled in a pair. Romero singled in the fifth run. Aaron Hicks doubled in the sixth. It was never a game after that.
Prospect watch: Escobar was 1-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Hicks was 1-for 3 with a walk and a double, driving in two.

TODAY'S TILT

12:05 Rochester (Virgil Vasquez, 4-7, 4.41) at Pawtucket (Charlie Haeger, 4-4, 4.38)

Game of September 6

Lots of hits and walks, but only one Red Wings run.  It's a must-win game tonight.

PAWTUCKET 5, ROCHESTER 1 IN PAWTUCKET

Batting stars:  Aaron Hicks was 2-for-4 with a double and scored once.  Ray Olmedo was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Eric Farris was 2-for-3 with a walk.  The Red Wings had nine hits, but stranded thirteen runners and were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Pitching stars:  Trevor May struck out three in three innings, giving up one run on three hits and one walk.

Opposition stars:  Steven Wright pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and four walks with five strikeouts.  Mark Hamilton was 2-for-2 with two walks, a double, and a home run, scoring twice and driving in two.  Brock Holt was 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in one.

Key inning:  The second.  It was a scoreless tie.  Dan Butler led off with a single-and-error and scored on a Holt single.  Jonathan Diaz singled to put runners on first and second.  A bunt advanced them and a ground out scored the second run to make it 2-0.

Prospect watch:  Eduardo Escobar was 0-for-5.  Chris Parmelee was 0-for-3 with two walks.

The Red Wings now trail, two games to one.

TODAY'S TILT

5:05  Rochester (Scott Diamond, 4-0, 2.41) at Pawtucket (Matt Barnes, 1-0, 0.00)

Games of September 5

The Red Wings lose on unearned runs.  The Kernels are swept out of the playoffs.

PAWTUCKET 7, ROCHESTER 2 IN ROCHESTER

Batting stars:  Ray Olmedo was 3-for-4 with an RBI.  Eduardo Escobar was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Edgar Ibarra struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks.  Shairon Martis pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.  Five of the seven Pawtucket runs were unearned.

Opposition stars:  Jackie Bradley, Jr. was 2-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring twice.  Heiker Meneses was 2-for-4 and scored twice.  Brock Holt was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Key inning:  The fourth.  The PawSox led 2-0.  An error, a ground out, and a sacrifice fly gave Pawtucket a 3-0 lead.  With two out and none on, Meneses singled, Bradley, Jr. doubled, and Brock Holt hit a two-run single to make it 5-0.  The Red Wings came back some in the bottom half.  Chris Parmelee walked and scored on a double by Deibinson Romero, who came around to score on a two-out single by Olmedo to make the score 5-2.  However, that was as much as Rochester could do.  Neither starter pitched all that well.  P. J. Walters gave up five runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings.  Clay Buchholz allowed two runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 3.2 innings.

Prospect watch:  Parmelee was 1-for-3 with a walk and scored once.  Aaron Hicks was 0-for-2 with two walks.

QUAD CITIES 4, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Batting star:  Jonathan Murphy hit a home run.  The Kernels had only four hits.

Pitching stars:  Mason Melotakis pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks with one strikeout.  Brian Gilbert pitched a scoreless inning, giving up no hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Joe Bircher pitched five innings, allowing one run on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Patrick Christensen retired all seven men he faced, striking out four of them.  Rio Ruiz was 2-for-3 with a walk and a home run, scoring twice.

Key inning:  The fourth.  The score was tied at one.  Ruiz led off with a homer to give the River Bandits the lead.  Singles by Roberto Pena and Jordan Scott were followed by a sacrifice bunt, putting runners on second and third.  With two out, Teoscar Hernandez delivered a two-run single to make the score 4-1.

Prospect watch:  Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 with a double and scored once.  Adam Brett Walker II was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Max Kepler was 0-for-4 with an RBI.  Tim Shibuya pitched six innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

This ends the Cedar Rapids season, as the Kernels are swept, two games to none.

TODAY'S TILT

6:00  Rochester (Pat Dean, 3-2, 2.03) at Pawtucket (Steven Wright, 8-7, 3.46)

Where They Stand: Season-Ending Edition

Rochester was 77-67, second in the International League North, 3.5 games behind Pawtucket.  They won the wild-card in a tie-breaker over Norfolk.  They won their last three games and were 5-5 in their last ten games.

New Britain was 66-76, fifth in the Eastern League Eastern, 20.5 games behind Binghamton.  They lost their last game and were 6-4 in their last ten games.

Fort Myers was 34-34 in the second half, fourth in the Florida State League South, 5.5 games behind Charlotte.  Overall, they were 79-56, first in the Florida State League South, six games ahead of St. Lucie.  They won their last game and were 7-3 in their last ten games.

Cedar Rapids was 48-22 in the second half, first in the Midwest League Western, 4.5 games ahead of Quad Cities.  Overall, they were 88-50, first in the Midwest League Western, seven games ahead of Quad Cities.  They won their last game and were 8-2 in their last ten games.

Elizabethton was 37-31, third in the Appalachian League West, 3.5 games behing Kingsport.  They won their last game and were 6-4 in their last ten games.

The GCL Twins were 28-32, third in the Gulf Coast League South, seven games behind the GCL Red Sox.  They won their last game and were 4-6 in their last ten games.

The DSL Twins were 36-33, fourth in the Boca Chica Baseball City, ten games behind the DSL Giants.  They lost their last three games and were 6-4 in their last ten games.

Games of September 4

Cole DeVries leads the Red Wings to victory in game one.  Fort Myers wastes nine shutout innings by Taylor Rogers and gets swept out of the playoffs.  Cedar Rapids drops the first game as the bats go silent.

ROCHESTER 7, PAWTUCKET 1 IN ROCHESTER

Batting stars:  James Beresford was 4-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one.  Eduardo Escobar was 2-for-3 with a walk and a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Eric Fryer was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Cole DeVries struck out six in six innings, giving up one run on five hits and one walk.  Aaron Thompson pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks with one strikeout.  A. J. Achter pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and one walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Bryce Brentz was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run.  Jackie Bradley, Jr. was 2-for-4.

Key inning:  The second.  The Red Wings led 2-0.  In the top of the inning, Brentz led off with a home run to make the score 2-1.  In the bottom half, Rochester got the run back when Ray Olmedo and Fryer hit one-out singles and Beresford delivered an RBI single with two out.

Prospect watch:  Chris Parmelee was 1-for-5 with an RBI.  Aaron Hicks was 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in one.

CHARLOTTE 2, FORT MYERS 1 IN FORT MYERS (10 INNINGS)

Batting star:  Mike Kvasnicka was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Taylor Rogers struck out nine in nine shutout innings, giving up three hits and one walk.

Opposition star:  Dylan Floro pitched eight shutout innings, allowing five hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

Key inning:  The tenth.  It was a scoreless tie.  Zach Jones came in to pitch.  Richie Shaffer singled and Alejandro Segovia walked.  A bunt moved runners to second and third with one out.  A wild pitch scored the first run of the game.  An intentional walk, a foul out, and an accidental walk loaded the bases with two out, and another wild pitch scored the second run.  In the bottom half, Matt Koch singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a pair of ground outs, but the Miracle could do no more.

Prospect watch:  Byron Buxton was 0-for-4.  Dalton Hicks was 0-for-2 with two walks.  Kennys Vargas was 1-for-4.

This concludes the season for Fort Myers.  They lose in the first round of the playoffs, two games to none.

QUAD CITIES 2, CEDAR RAPIDS 1 IN QUAD CITIES

Batting star:  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Brett Lee struck out six in five innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks.  Alex Muren struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up no hits and one walk.

Opposition stars:  Chris Devenski pitched five innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks with one strikeout.  Mitchell Lambson struck out five in 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks.  Carlos Correa was 3-for-4 and scored once.

Key inning:  The eighth.  The score was tied at one.  Madison Boer came in to pitch.  Teoscar Hernandez and Correa led off with singles, putting runners on the corners with none out.  Danry Vasquez hit into a 6-4-3 double play, but the go-ahead run scored.

Prospect watch:  Max Kepler was 0-for-4.  Adam Brett Walker II was 1-for-4 and scored once.

TODAY'S TILTS

6:05  Pawtucket (Clay Buchholz, 0-0, 2.70 at Rochester (P. J. Walters, 7-5, 4.18)

6:35  Quad Cities (Joe Bircher, 3-3, 4.15) at Cedar Rapids (Tim Shibuya, 4-0, 0.96)

Players of the Month: August/September 2013

We'll do players of the year after the minor league playoffs are over.

Rochester:  Eduardo Escobar hit .314/.389./534 in 118 at-bats.  For the season, he hit .307/.308/.500 in 166 at-bats.  Pat Dean was 3-2, 2.03, 1.08 WHIP in 40 innings, walking 5 and striking out 22.  Those are also his season numbers in Rochester.

New Britain:  Reynaldo Rodriguez hit .264/.319/.618 with 10 doubles and 9 homers in 110 at-bats.  For the season, he hit .231/.305/.482 with 33 doubles and 21 homers in 415 at-bats.  Dakota Watts is 2-0, 0.53, 0.94 WHIP in 17 innings, walking 5 and striking out 15.  For the season, he was 3-0, 0.74, 1.13 WHIP with 10 walks and 31 strikeouts in 36.1 innings.

Fort Myers:  Byron Buxton hit.383/.496/.468 with 17 stolen bases in 94 at-bats.  For the season, he hit .326/.415/.472 with 23 stolen bases in 218 at-bats.  Taylor Rogers was 3-1, 0.89, 0.89 WHIP with 13 walks and 32 strikeouts in 40.1 innings.  For the season, he was 11-6, 2.55, 1.16 WHIP with 32 walks and 86 strikeouts in 130.2 innings.

Cedar Rapids:  Adam Brett Walker II hit .278/.328/.491 in 108 at-bats.  For the season, he hit .278/.319/.526 with 31 doubles and 27 home runs in 508 at-bats.  Tim Shibuya was 3-0, 0.88, 0.72 WHIP with 4 walks and 17 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.  For the season, he was 4-0, 0.96, 0.72 WHIP with 4 walks and 25 strikeouts in 37.2 innings.

Elizabethton:  Zach Granite hit .293/.378/.341 with 5 stolen bases in 126 at-bats.  For the season, he hit .285/.362/.343 in 242 at-bats.  Aaron Slegers was 0-0, 0.00, 0.51 WHIP with 0 walks and 13 strikeouts in 11.2 innings.  For the season, he was 0-0, 0.47, 0.95 WHIP with 2 walks and 18 strikeouts in 19 innings.

GCL Twins:  No position player did anything worth mentioning.  Fernando Romero was 2-0, 0.39, 0.64 WHIP with 3 walks and 21 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.  For the season, he was 2-0, 1.60, 1.00 with 13 walks and 47 strikeouts in 45 innings.

DSL Twins:  Dubal Baez hit .347/.458/.396 with 11 stolen bases in 49 at-bats.  For the season, he hit .335/.447/.396 in 164 at-bats.  Eduardo Del Rosario was 0-0, 1.13, 0.75 WHIP in 16 innings.  For the season, he was 2-3, 2.03, 1.06 WHIP with 25 walks and 30 strikeouts in 44.1 innings.